Ferreting out fake SEALs

Don Shipley is on a mission to expose imposters posing as Navy SEALs and protect the integrity of the SEAL name he spent 20 years serving.
Shipley, owner of Extreme SEAL Experience, is in Morgan City this week at the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition, commonly known as the “Mr. Charlie” rig museum, to give his customers a taste of what it’s like to be a Navy SEAL. Shipley, 54, lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.
The Mr. Charlie rig gives people enrolled in Shipley’s course the “unique opportunity” to train on an oil rig, he said.
People travel from Canada and “all over” to learn SEAL combat, climbing and other techniques from Shipley, he said. This year is Shipley’s second time to offer his course at the Mr. Charlie.
Shipley served with Navy SEAL teams for 20 years and was in the Navy a total of 24 years, he said. He began operating the Extreme SEAL Experience nine years ago.
In addition to the course, Shipley has a passion in “busting fake Navy SEALs” and caught one Sunday in New Orleans, he said.
Shipley encountered a man impersonating a Navy SEAL on Bourbon Street where the man was working Sunday night. The man had a big Navy SEAL tattoo on him, Shipley said.
Shipley has taken on the responsibility of “publicly shaming” phony SEALs, he said.
“We (Navy SEALs) are the No. 1 targeted group in the nation for imposters,” Shipley said.
Shipley doesn’t go after “the barroom loudmouth” but instead tracks down fake SEALs with long criminal records, many of whom have been abusive to women or children, he said.
“I go after the worst of the worst,” Shipley said.
People who pose as Navy SEALs typically are trying to compensate for something in their past “they’re terribly ashamed of,” he said.
The likelihood of someone actually encountering a real Navy SEAL is extremely remote.
“It’s like sitting next to a pro quarterback on an airplane,” Shipley said.
About one in 40,000 people in the U.S. is an active or retired Navy SEAL, he said.
“But everybody knows one,” Shipley said referring to imposters the people who claim to be SEALs.
Navy SEALs “got their start in 1943” during World War II working as underwater demolition teams, Shipley said. There have been fewer than 18,000 people complete SEAL training, and probably about half of those SEALs are still alive today, he said. Active duty SEALs number about 2,500.
Out of every 100 claims Shipley receives, maybe one is a legitimate SEAL. On Monday, Shipley verified one SEAL who runs a shooting course in Michigan. Shipley served with that SEAL.
Each day Shipley receives 20 to 30 claims of people purporting to be Navy SEALs that he’s asked to verify, he said. Shipley uses a database that lists all Navy SEALs for verification purposes.
“If your name is not on there, you were never a SEAL. End of story,” he said.
Shipley hosts a “Phony Navy SEAL of the Week” series on YouTube. His videos have received over 22 million views, he said. Shipley’s website, phonyseals.com, allows members of the public to help fund Shipley’s trips to confront the fake SEALs.
Since beginning the trips in March, Shipley has been to seven states and has caught 15 phony SEALs, he said.
Before Shipley began setting up face-to-face meetings with SEAL imposters, he used to call fake SEALs and post videos of the calls on YouTube. The videos got so popular that when Shipley called the fake SEALs, they knew who he was, he said.
“We had to take it in another direction. It wasn’t working anymore so we started flying, driving wherever, as far away from Virginia,” Shipley said.
Shipley’s wife, Diane, goes with him “to confront these phonies,” he said. The couple’s son is also a SEAL. Bringing his wife “leads to a lot less confrontation” compared to taking another SEAL, which could come off as bullying, Shipley said.
“She does not like that stolen valor. We’ve been to way too many funerals for those clowns to steal that,” Shipley said.
He has been to places including Oregon, Michigan and Georgia to “personally confront” SEAL imposters, he said.
This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald. He can be reached at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.